Bunchems of fun {Review}

Bunchems of fun… hahahaha… I can’t stop giggling! Probably because I am overtired and should be asleep, but also because I love being punny… Hahahaha. Ok, enough, I promise! It is funny and adorable, BUT it is also true! Bunchems is the most awesome And, if you are patient and read allll the way to the end, you stand a chance to win a Bunchems Mega Pack valued at R500 for your small to middle sized human for Christmas! **Winner announced**.

Bunchems is an activiy range that was recently launched into the South African market (you can get them exclusively at Toy Kingdom). I am completely obsessed with them, Charly spends hours playing with them and even Brett has given a few of them a try. But you don’t have to take our word for it, it was awarded the international Toy of the Year 2016 in the Activities category at the New York Toy Fair.

You guys know that I only review things I love. About half the time I discover these things when I am approached by a brand or their PR or Marketing teams to ask if Charly or I would be interested in trying them out for free (and sometimes they even pay me an admin fee for the time and photos and particularly for giveaways which take up loads of time – TOTALLY worth it to be able to spoil my readers!)

That said, sometimes what I receive is essentially a flyer and other times… other times I am utterly blown away by the brands generosity. THIS is one of those times. The awesome people at Just Fun Kidz sent us one of each of the sets available for us to review!!! I literally phoned them and asked if they had sent me the trial products and the prizes for here and Tums 2 Tots Online (going up asap) accidentally. The squeeing that followed the assurance that they were all for us (totally Charly, ok… maybe me as well, or maybe mostly me – whatever) probably alarmed the neighbours.

Spoiler alert – we LOVE the Bunchems range!

There are three different “products” in the range: the Creation Pack (Treats, Bugs or Pets), the Glow in the Dark Pack (Under the Sea or Dinosaurs) and the Mega Pack (which has over 400 pieces for you to create a huge variety of things). Each pack comes with the Bunchems balls in various colours, a selection of accessories and instructions on how to create a variety of toys using the pieces. They are meant for children 4 years and older.

As most of you know, Charly is developmentally on par with children of around 4 years old. She is passed putting things in her mouth and she happily sits for hours doing one thing. Please DON’T let any little one who is prone to “tasting” their toys near these. They are essentially small spiky balls (not sharp at all, but I am sure it would be unpleasant to get one in the eye – toddlers!), so keep an eye on little humans playing with them.

On that note, one of the first bits of engagement I got when I shared these on Instagram was a warning that the balls can get quite tangled in hair. I was wondering how I could test this (without actually purposefully sticking one in my own or my child’s hair – I would never!!)You can see they are quite clear that you shouldn’t put them in your hair… or feed them to your pets or yourself…

And then Charly decided to lie back in a whole handful of them…

I was terrified I was in for an epic Charly-tantrum, but all except one came out in a second without any issues. The last one had gotten caught in a pre-existing tangle and was properly in there. She never made a peep (she generally screams her face off if I touch her hair with a brush) and kept playing with her Bunchems while I slowly separated the hair from it. It took about 3 minutes. She has played with them regularly since and has never gotten another one caught, but I would recommend tying back long hair just in case.

After all the warnings, I somehow got a string of them tangled in my hair too… My hair was in a plait, but for those of you who don’t know, my hair is incredibly long, so the plait fell forward. Can’t believe I didn’t follow my own advice and tie my hair up properly 😀 Anyway. The Mega Pack has a note in the instruction manual on how to get them out… It really was this easy, took a couple of minutes. If you don’t have coconut oil, a tiny bit of conditioner would have the same effect I would imagine. Don’t believe me, here’s a video showing how easy it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S41FjIpPJTo.

As an aside, my very soft fluffy cat Trigger lay down on them and none stuck to him; no idea about dogs. Again though, they are small soft spiky balls and small plastic pieces, you should pack them away after use and keep them away from animals who might try to eat them anyway… People do that right? Ok, so that is the only “negative” experience I had with them, and it was easier than dealing with… well any of the things she has gone through in the past few months! Back to all the Bunchems of fun! How do Bunchems work? Simple really –

Okay, it can be more structured than that, but it can be that easy for little ones Grown ups can follow the simple visual instructions on the different ways to connect the balls. Then each little ball has a hole, where you can “plug” in the accessories.

Charly had no interest in following any instructions and had a blast doing her own thing with the Bunchems.

I, on the other hand, have been conscientiously following the instructions and building the characters from every pack (The OCD is STRONG with me!) I tried very hard to keep the Mega Pack for the school holidays, where hours of (quiet) playing that improves concentration, fine motor skills and imagination will be desperately needed in between the running around, swimming and heat waves of December! I failed the second I started writing this review and spent every “free” moment I had building all the characters. It is totally addictive and super relaxing!

You would think that all the sets would be the same level of fun and skill, you would be wrong. Here are my thoughts on the range you can find at Toy Kingdoms around South Africa!

The Creation Packs: Treats, Bugs and Pets

The Creation Packs each come with 60 Bunchems in different colours, a varying number of accessories (Treats 5, Bugs 6 and Pets 11) and instructions to make 3 different characters. They are relatively simple to do and a good starting point if you want to test the waters before commiting to the larger packs.

The Treats pack is the best one for little ones; very simple and easy to put together without instructions. Charly loved them. She is also going through a stage of tea parties, so it was perfect timing!

I LOVED the little ladybug from the Bugs pack and Brett enjoyed doing the dogs from the Pets pack the most.

The Glow in the Dark Packs: Under the Sea & Dinosaurs

Charly and I LOVED these!!! We have a thing about Glow in the Dark stuff, from her Glow in the Dark pumpkin t-shirt from Parental Instinct to the Fairies in Paris Glow in the Dark stickers inside her bed canopy. So when we found these Glow in the Dark Sets, there was a LOT of squealing and excitement.

There are more Bunchems in these sets, 160 regular, 40 glow in the dark, 14 Accessories in the Dinosaurs pack and 13 in the Under the Sea pack, and manuals with instructions for 4 different characters. There are other animals on the box though and once you have built the 4 in the manuals, you can usually figure out the others yourself. With more Bunchems and accessories, you can also make things up!

Out of all of the packs, the Under the Sea set is my very favourite of them all. But with so many littles Dinosaur obsessed, I can’t think of a more perfect gift for Christmas than the Glow in the Dark Dinosaur pack!!

The Bunchems Mega Pack – OUR PRIZE!!

This is an awesome awesome set! There are 370 Bunchems in a great variety of bright happy colours and 36 accessories, with instructi0ns to make 5 items. There are some neat tricks that you learn through the different sets, like using the colours you won’t need for the outside of the creation, as insides to fill your character out. I love the massive variety it offers, and because I saved it for last, I was familiar with the different ways to use them and thoroughly enjoyed creating the odds and ends from the box cover without any instructions.

The other thing to consider is that once the characters are made, they make awesome toys too. Part of the reason it took so long to work through all the packs is because we stopped to play with them between builds.

We are most definitely a Bunchems family. Brett and I both got down on the floor with Charly and with the more complicated characters, we all worked together on different elements to build them. Bunchems definitely deserved the title of Toy of the Year 2016 for activities. I love that there is no restriction to what you can build with them, your imagination really is the only limit you have. The colours, the feel of the balls, the hugely varied accessories, make it endless fun. And I don’t feel there is an age limit on them either. I think your 4 year old will love them just as much as your 10, 15, 23, 35, 55 year old family members or friends.

Wait!! Before we start, pop over to the Just Fun Kidz Facebook page and give it a like!! They are constantly running amazing giveaways of the amazing toy ranges they have And guys, be kind, tag your friends and family on Facebook so they can enter too!

You will be immediately disqualified if you complete the entry form more than once. We will immediately disqualify you from entering any Pregnant in Cape Town giveaways for 2 months if you have NOT completed all the required steps.

*This giveaway is sadly only open to those currently residing in South Africa*

I personally love the pets pack… those little cats and dogs are just TOO cute! That said, as a massive dinosaur fan, I know Noah would definitely choose the Dino set, hands down! Lovely giveaway… can’t wait to get my hands on some Bunchems, so fingers crossed!

That cat from the pet pack is tooooo cute!
I love this idea as a Christmas gift because it gives them some direction with creativity but then is also Open-ended enough to allow them to express themselves.
We homeschool our 4 and this would be perfect for our 4 1/2 year old daughter.
So glad I found your blog. I’ve subscribed to your mailing list and I’m going to have a good browse through your previous posts.

Had a good chuckle at this post – you guys are seriously talented at making up these little creatures!!! So much so that I imagine my hubby and I enjoying them as much as you guys did! My son however, would LOVE the glow in the dark dinosaurs!

Oh my, I seriously cannot choose a favorite character, they are just all so adorable but I do love the treats pack. It is just so cute! My little Luca would adore this. He sits for hours with his building blocks so I know that this is something that’s right up his alley.

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